Door system for high low platforms

ABSTRACT

A door system for a railway passenger vehicle to enable both high and low platform loading of passengers, including a pair of bi-parting doors to be opened for high-level loading, and a low door immediately below the bi-parting doors to be opened with the bi-parting doors for low level loading, and a stair unit coacting with the low door accessible through a trap door, and means for retracting the low door within the car structure behind the stair unit.

United States Patent {191 Roth [54] DOOR SYSTEM FOR HIGH-LOW PLATFORMS [75] Inventor: Carl W. Roth, Arlington Hts., Ill.

[73] Assignee: Vapor Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: Feb. 18, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 116,409

[ 51 Apr. 3, 1973 1,032,832 7/1912 Howson 105/450 2,085,443 6/1937 Nichols et al ..105/450 2,415,341 2/1947 Dean ..105/430 3,572,754 3/1971 Fowler ..105/447 Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman AttorneyKinzer, Dorn & Zickert [57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. C1- ..105/378, 105/426, 105/443, A door System for a railway passenger vehicle to ena- /450 ble both high and low platform loading of passengers, [51] Int. Cl ..B6ld 19/00, B6ld 23/00 in luding a pair of bi-parting doors to be opened for Field of Search 105/329, 378, 425, 426, 430, high-level loading, and a low door immediately below 105/432, 447450 443 the bi-parting doors to be opened with the bi-parting doors for low level loading, and a stair unit coasting [56] References Cited with the low door accessible through a trap door, and

UNITED STATES PATENTS means for retracting the low door within the car structure behind the stair unit. 2,056,225 10/1936 Wright et al ..l05/447 977,310 11/1910 Howson ..l05/450 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 'Z 3o 31 54 s 65 I 36 k I J 4 z 32 4 5 I 1 37 I 55 S6 3 III '1' 1111111 I Inventor Carl W- Roth PATENTEDAFRS I973 3,724,396

SHEET 2 BF 2 Inventor C a r'] W. Roth.

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DOOR SYSTEM FOR HIGH-LOW PLATFORMS This invention relates in general to a door system for a railway passenger car to facilitate both high and low level platform loading.

In general, door systems for railway passenger cars featuring high and low level platform loading have long been known, wherein the system includes a single upper door, a stairwell having a staircase leading from the floor of the car downwardly, and a trap door covering the stairwell and providing a continuation of the floor for upper level platform loading. The exit end of the staircase is usually open and therefore susceptible to accumulating snow thereby making movement thereon hazardous. Moreover, these door systems have only permitted upper level loading with a single stream of passengers.

The present invention provides a door system for railway passenger cars, and especially the type used in commuter traffic, which provides safe loading of passengers at both high and low level platforms. The door opening of the car includes a pair of upper bi-parting doors, and a lower door. Continuous with the floor of the car is a trap door below which is a stairwell with a staircase. The lower door coacts with the stairwell to selectively open and close it for low level platform loading, while the trap door is raised to its upright position for low level platform loading and maintained in its down position for high level platform loading. The lower edges of the bi-parting doors align with the floor of the car and a threshold is provided on the lower door for the upper bi-parting doors. The lower door is retracted beneath the stairs for low level platform loading by means of a suitable drive mechanism. The threshold of the lower door also serves to extend the floor of the car beyond the trap door toward the loading platform, thereby eliminating any gap and possible hazard to loading passengers.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a door system in the side wall of a passenger car capable of loading passengers from both high and low level platforms, and especially permitting high level platform loading with a maximum of safety by providing a continuous surface at platform level without the presence of an unnecessarily wide gap existing between the station platform and the floor area of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door system for a railway passenger car having high reliability and being relativelyfree of exposed linkage or other door supports, and capable of moving the doors completely out of the passenger loading area.

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of a door system for both high and low level platform loading that eliminates hazards to passengers.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a railway passenger car having the door system of the invention and illustrating the doors in closed positions;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary, sectional view taken through the doors and adjacent loading area of the car to illustrate the lower door arrangement and show the lower door in closed position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating the lower door in a position as it is starting to open;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to F IGS. 2 and 3 but illustrating the lower door in fully opened position; 7

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, front elevational view of the door system and partly illustrating the lower door,

wherein all doors are in closed positions; and

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating all doors in open position and the car ready for low level platform loading.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, a railway passenger car 10 is illustrated as having a side wall 11 in which the door system 12 of the present invention is mounted to selectively open and close a door opening 13, having an upper door opening portion 14 and a lower door opening portion'lS, to permit ingress and egress of passengers, or the loading of passengers to and from a loading platform. More particularly, the door system 12 includes a pair of upper bi-parting doors 18, 18 and a lower door 19 selectively closing the door opening 13. The upper bi-parting doors 18 are aligned with the upper door opening portion 14, while the lower door 19 is aligned with the lower door opening 15.

It is preferable to maintain the car outline or car line as smooth and streamlined as possible. In the case of movable doors, it is preferable that the doors conform as close as possible to the car line, and therefore the biparting doors 18, when moving to open positions, are movable into pockets formed in the side wall 11 of the car. Suitable door operators 20,20 are provided for sliding the bi-parting doors 18 between open and closed positions, they being shown in open position in FIG. 6. The door operators would operate simultaneously during opening and closing operations from the same control circuit. A suitable door operator may be provided with suitable driving connections to the doors. The door operators 20 include an oscillating drive arm 21 connected to a connecting rod 22 that is, in turn, connected to the adjacent edge of the door. While bi-parting doors are illustrated, it should be appreciated that a single sliding door could be employed. Further, doors sliding in and out of pockets, as illustrated, where the door operators are likewise mounted within the side wall of the car, reduce the exposure of linkages and mechanism thereby assuring more satisfactory operation. The bi-parting doors may be suitably mounted on tracks, and when in open position to open the upper door opening portion 14, they provide such an opening as to permit double-stream passenger loading from high level platforms.

The lower door 19, enclosing the opening 15, also closes the unloading end of a staircase 25 located in a stairwell 26 that is arranged adjacent the door opening 13. The inlet end of the staircase 26 commences at the floor 27 of the car and is closable by a trap door 28. The trap door 28 in its lowered position, as shown in FIG. 2, forms a continuation of the floor 27 to permit high level platform loading. The trap door terminates at its outer edge slightly inside of the bi-parting doors 18, thereby enabling it to be opened while en route and while both the bi-parting doors and the lower door are in closed positions. Thus, loading levels may be changed while en route with all exterior doors closed. Suitable latches will be provided to lock the trap door in its closed or open positions, and the trap door is hingedly mounted at one side of the stairwell so that it may swing up and be latched against the car structure, as illustrated in FIG. 6, when opening the stairwell 26. Normally, the trap door will be manually raised and lowered.

The staircase is fixed, thereby eliminating the problems usually associated with retractable staircases. Further, the staircase includes three descending stairtreads 30, 31 and 32, all essentially supported between opposed walls 33. Risers 34 and 35 are provided above the stairtreads and 31, while a transverse opening 36 is provided above the stairtread 32 and below the stairtread 31 for permitting retraction of the lower door 19 to a position behind the stairs in a compartment 37, as shown in FIG. 4. The compartment 37 is completely enclosed from the elements by car structure walls 38 which coact with the lower door 19 to completely shield the stairs from the elements, and thereby eliminate any possible accumulation of snow and any other debris on the stairs which would impair the safety of passengers loading from a low level platform. A smooth outside contour along the car line is provided by the lower door and staircase arrangement.

The mechanism for operating the lower door 19 between open and closed positions includes a door operator 42 of the usual type which would probably include a reversible electric motor and a gearing arrangement for imparting power to an output shaft 43 having connected thereto a crank arm 44. The outer end of the crank arm 44 is pivotally connected to a link 45 that is, in turn, pivotally connected to an arm 46 of a multiplying lever 47. The multiplying lever is pivotally mounted on a fixed stud 48, and further includes an arm 49, the outer end of which is pivotally connected to a connecting rod 50 that is, in turn, pivotally connected to the lower inner end of the lower door 19. Movement of the door 19 is guided by roller-followers 53 at its upper end which engage in guide tracks 54, and roller-followers 55 at its lower end which engage in guide tracks 56. The tracks 54 and 56 are formed in the opposed walls 33 of the stairwell. The tracks are essentially vertical in position, and have a lower arcuate portion that leads through the opening 36 and under the stairtread 31. the tracks 56 are essentially horizontally arranged and extend from adjacent the stairtread 32 rearwardly through the opening 36 and into the compartment 37. The path of movement of the door is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein the door in FIG. 3 is starting to open. The lower end swings inwardly and slightly upwardly, while the upper end primarily pivots on the roller followers. From that point, the door takes an essentially arcuate path downwardly and rearwardly until it is wholly within the compartment 37, as shown in FIG. 4. While not shown, suitable weather seals will be provided on the door 19 or around the lower door opening portion 15. Thus, the profile of the guide tracks 54 and 56 are such as to cause the lower door 19 to retract away from the seals when opening and to progressively apply sealing force from top to bottom when closing, as the top of the lower door 19 during closing first moves vertically to almost full height and then acts as a pivot as the lower part of the door moves outward to the fully closed and sealed position.

The top of the lower door 19 defines a threshold plate 60 for the bi-parting doors 18, which threshold plate extends the floor of the car beyond the trap door 28. Accordingly, it serves as a filler for the gap that would otherwise exist between the end of the lowered trap door and a high level station platform, thereby contributing to the safety of passengers.

In the closed position, the lower door essentially rests against the lowermost stairtread 32, and weight of a passenger stepping on the threshold plate 60 is carried to the car structure by means of the lower roller-followers 55 through the guide tracks 56 and engagement of the lower end of the door with the stairtread 32. The upper roller-followers 53, being arranged in a nearly vertical track portion, resist any outward displacement of the lower door caused by the weight of a passenger on the threshold. By virtue of the near vertical upper track portion of tracks 54, the displacement of the lower door beyond the car outline during opening or closing operations is kept to a minimum, thereby permitting operation with the car closely adjacent to a platform or similar structure.

The threshold plate 60 of the lower door is further provided with a guide track 62 that guidably receives slide bars 63 carried on the bottom ends of the bi-parting doors 18. When the door 19 is in its raised and closed position, the guide track 62 forms a continuation of a similar track contained in the car structure on either side of the lower door and extending into the door pockets. Where the upper bi-parting doors are closed and the lower door is closed, the full width guide tracks serve as a lateral support for the bottoms of the doors to resist displacement as the bi-parting doors are so loaded in transit.

The shape of the lower door at its bottom end and its coaction with the lowest stairtread 32 is such as to prevent a passenger waiting to exit from stepping onto the bottom stairtread 32 prior to retraction of the door 19, thereby avoiding injury to the passenger. The curved surface 65 on the inside of the lower door 19 discourages a passenger from attempting to stand on this surface, and during retraction of the door would serve to deflect the toe of a shoe upward if a persons foot were inadvertently projected outwardly from the stairtread 31 and into the path of the door.

As already explained, the lower door 19 is moved between open and closed position by a system of connecting rods and multiplying levers and a standard door operator. The linkage shown in full lines in FIG. 2 where the door is in closed position, and the linkage shown in phantom in FIGS. 3 and 4, illustrate the positions of the parts, it being appreciated that the drive arm 44 of the door operator moves about through a path of about during the driving of the door between open and closed positions. Further, as seen in FIG. 2, the pivot connection between the arm 46 of the multiplying lever 47 and the link 45 moves to over center relationship relative the pivot connection between the link 45 and the arm 44 and the output shaft 43 to secure the lower door 19 in the closed position and maintain an adequate weather seal. Further, pressure on the threshold plate 60 by passengers will not cause the multiplying lever and linkages to apply pressure against the door operator to allow the door to open. The link 45 in the over center position abuts against a stop 66, thereby preventing further movement of the link and multiplying lever when a force is applied against the door 19 to move it to open position.

The hinged trap door 28 is provided with electrical interlocking switches that are actuated in the fully raised or fully lowered positions that permit sequencing of the upper bi-parting doors only for high level loading of the upper doors and the lower door for low level loading. An intermediate position of the trap door would preclude operation of the upper doors or the lower door.

While the stationary stairwell is shown to be wide enough only for single stream loading with luggage, it should be appreciated that it could be made wider, if so desired. The upper door opening portion for the biparting doors is wide enough to permit double stream passenger loading. Further, while the conventional electric door operator may be used for driving the lower door, a fluid motor of the pneumatic or hydraulic type could also be utilized for providing the necessary motive power.

it will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a railway car having a floor, a ceiling, side and end walls defining a passenger compartment, and a door opening in a side wall, a door system for the door opening to selectively permit loading to and from both high and low level platforms, said system comprising, upper sliding door means and lower door means closing the door opening, wherein said door opening includes an upper portion terminating at its lower end at floor level for the upper sliding door means and a lower portion extending downwardly from floor level for the lower door means, a stairwell having fixed stairs therein for low level platform loading being below floor level and aligned with the lower portion of the door opening and closed from the outside by the lower door means, a trap door pivotally mounted at one side of and closing the stairwell from the inside, said trap door being at floor level when down to enable high level platform loading, means at the upper end of the lower door means defining track means for the upper sliding door means and defining a continuation of the floor outward of the trap door to the car line, means for operating the upper sliding door means between open and closed positions, and means for operating the lower door means between open and closed positions, said means for operating the lower door means including guide tracks therefor and a power door operator drivingly connected to the lower door means, wherein the lower door means is retractable to open the lower portion of the door opening and expose said fixed stairs without projecting extensively beyond the car line.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein an opening is provided in said stairs through which the lower door means retracts when moving to open position.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said means for operating the lower door means further includes a linkage assembly connecting the door and door operator, wherein the linkage assembly will over center and lock when the door is in fully closed position.

4. In a railway car having a passenger compartment defined by a floor, a ceiling, and side and end walls, and a door opening in a side wall for loading passengers extending above and below the floor of the car, a door system for the door opemng to selectively permit passenger loading to and from both high and low level platforms, said system comprising, a pair of upper bi-parting sliding doors and a lower door, said upper bi-parting sliding doors when closed covering the opening from the floor upward and movable toward and away from each other, said lower door when closed covering the opening from the floor downward and movable downwardly and inwardly, a stairwell having a fixed staircase therein below the floor adjacent the opening and aligned with the lower door, a trap door within the compartment covering the stairwell at floor level and movable between closed position for high level platform loading and open position for low level platform loading, a threshold plate integral with the lower door at the upper end thereof including track means for the bi-parting doors and defining a continuation of the floor outward of the trap door, means for operating the bi-parting doors between open and closed positions, and means for operating the lower door between open and closed positions including guide means therefor and a power door operator drivingly connected to the lower door.

5. The combination of claim 4, further including means for mounting said trapdoor for movement between open and closed positions while the car is en route and the bi-parting doors are closed.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said trapdoor mounting means includes hinge means at one side of the stairwell.

7. The combination of claim 6, wherein an opening is provided in the staircase through which the lower door retracts when moving to open position.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the track means for said bi parting doors guide movement of the doors at their lower end and provide support against outward faces when the doors are closed.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein said guide means for said lower door includes guide tracks at opposite sides of the stairwell, roller-followers extending from the door into said tracks, and a multiplying lever and linkage assembly connected to the door.

10. The combination of claim 9, wherein said multiplying lever and linkage assembly includes an over center lock operative when the door is in closed position. 

1. In a railway car having a floor, a ceiling, side and end walls defining a passenger compartment, and a door opening in a side wall, a door system for the door opening to selectively permit loading to and from both high and low level platforms, said system comprising, upper sliding door means and lower door means closing the door opening, wherein said door opening includes an upper portion terminating at its lower end at floor level for the upper sliding door means and a lower portion extending downwardly from floor level for the lower door means, a stairwell having fixed stairs therein for low level platform loading being below floor level and aligned with the lower portion of the door opening and closed from the outside by the lower door means, a trap door pivotally mounted at one side of and closing the stairwell from the inside, said trap door being at floor level when down to enable high level platform loading, means at the upper end of the lower door means defining track means for the upper sliding door means and defining a continuation of the floor outward of the trap door to the car line, means for operating the upper sliding door means between open and closed positions, and means for operating the lower door means between open and closed positions, said means for operating the lower door means including guide tracks therefor and a power door operator drivingly connected to the lower door means, wherein the lower door means is retractable to open the lower portion of the door opening and expose said fixed stairs without projecting extensively beyond the car line.
 2. The combination of claim 1, wherein an opening is provided in said stairs through which the lower door means retracts when moving to open position.
 3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said means for operating the lower door means further includes a linkage assembly connecting the door and door operator, wherein the linkage assembly will over center and lock when the door is in fully closed position.
 4. In a railway car having a passenger compartment defined by a floor, a ceiling, and side and end walls, and a door opening in a side wall for loading passengers extending above and below the floor of the car, a door system for the door opening to selectively permit passenger loading to and from both high and low level platforms, said system comprising, a pair of upper bi-parting sliding doors and a lower door, said upper bi-parting sliding doors when closed covering the opening from the floor upward and movable toward and away from each other, said lower door when closed covering the opening from the floor downward and movable downwardly and inwardly, a stairwell having a fixed staircase therein below the floor adjacent the opening and aligned with the lower door, a trap door within the compartment covering the stairwell at floor level and movable between closed position for high level platform loading and open position for low level platform loading, a threshold plate integral with the lower door at the upper end thereof including track means for the bi-parting doors and defining a continuation of the floor outward of the trap door, means for operating the bi-parting doors between open and closed positions, and means for operating the lower door between open and closed positions including guide means therefor and a power door operator drivingly connected to the lower door.
 5. The combination of claim 4, further including means for mounting said trapdoor for movement between open and closed positions while the car is en route and the bi-parting doors are closed.
 6. The combination of claim 5, wherein said trapdoor mounting means includes hinge means at one side of the stairwell.
 7. The combination of claim 6, wherein an opening is provided in the staircase through which the lower door retracts when moving to open position.
 8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the track means for said bi-parting doors guide movement of the doors aT their lower end and provide support against outward faces when the doors are closed.
 9. The combination of claim 8, wherein said guide means for said lower door includes guide tracks at opposite sides of the stairwell, roller-followers extending from the door into said tracks, and a multiplying lever and linkage assembly connected to the door.
 10. The combination of claim 9, wherein said multiplying lever and linkage assembly includes an over center lock operative when the door is in closed position. 